Circuit-controller.



T. T. GAFF.

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

APPLlCATlON FILED mum. 1914.

1 1 50,356. Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

an on 1 l'l'oz T/zamas Ida/1f THOMAS T. GAFF, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA.

CIRCUIT-CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

Application filed Marclil}, 1914.; Serial No.'822,218.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS T. Gal na citizen of the United States,residing at W'ashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented.certain new and useful Improvements in' (lircuit Controllers, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to a circuit controller intended mainly for use inconnection with counters or other measuring instruments ac tuated by aseries of electrical impulses produced by a make and break contactdevice connected or attached to some moving element, such as'a rotatingshaft. In devices of this class, it may happen that the moving elementstops, while the contacts are closed, thereby leaving the battery in aclosed circuit whichresults in wasteful and possibly injurious dischargeof the battery, and produces other undesirable results.

It is the object of my invention to remove this difficulty by providingmeans for automatically breaking the battery circuit un; der suchconditions and means for restoring the circuit to proper indicatingcondition as soon as the moving element resumes its motion.- These andother results I obtain by means of' the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a diagram of the system as a whole; and Fig. 2 is a planview of the moving element, in this instance, a shaft.

Referring to the drawings, A is a shaft on which is mounted a flangedsleeve B, the flange C having on its periphery one or more, preferablyinsulated, contact plates D. Arranged to engage this contact plate, ateach revolution of the shaft, are contact springs E, F. From the springE, the connections of what may be termed the main circuit are throughwire 1, to indicator G, which may be of any suitable construction and isprovided with indicating or registering mechanism, actuated by theelectrical impulses. From G the circuit is through wire 2 to battery H,wire 3, thermostatic circuit-closer 4, wire 5, switch lever K (pivotedon support L), contact M,.wire 6, and spring F. The making and breakingof this otherwise normally intact circuit operates the register orindicator G in any well known manner. If, however, the shaft A shouldstop in the position shown in Fig. 1, the continued flow of currentthrough the thermostatic device heats the thermostat and causes theclosing of a secondary circuit from battery H through contacts N, 0,wire 7, electromagnet P and wire 8, back to the battery. The magne IP isenergized and attracts the lower end ofv the switch lever K and breaksthe contact between the upper end of the bar K and contact M, thusbreaking the main circuit. As current has now ceased to fiow, thethermostatic device cools down and breaks the secondary circuit at N, 0,thus denergizing the magnet. To prevent the switch lever K from beingretracted by the light spring T, I provide a latching device comprisinga spring hook Q which engages a pin R secured to some stationary part ofthe mechanism. In order to again restore the main circuit to itsoperative condition when the shaft again rotates, I provide the pin S onthe face of the flange C and in such angular relation to the contactplate D that, as soon as the contact is broken by the passing of thespring F off such plate, the pin S willengage the projection Q on theend of the latch, raise the latch and permit the spring T to pull theswitch lever K into contact with the terminal M, thus restoring the maincircuit to its normal operating condition. The magnet P is soproportioned as to exert enough pull to overcome the tension of thespring T.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from theforegoing description.

While I have described somewhat in detail a particular apparatus foraccomplishing the results desired, it will be understood that theconstruction of the various parts may be widely modified withoutdeparting from the scope of my invention.

I claim l. A circuit controlling device comprising a moving member, acircuit making and breaking device cooperating therewith and included inan electric circuit containing a battery, an indicating or registeringdevice and a switch, in combination with means for automaticallyoperating said switch to break the circuit upon continued passage of thecurrent therethrough, and means carried by the moving member toautomatically restore the circuit to normal condition, after being sobroken.

2. A circuit controlling device comprising a moving member, a make andbreak device having one element thereof mounted on said moving member, aswitch, thermostatically-controlled means for opening said.

switch, and automatic circuit-reestablishing means carried by saidmoving member.

3. A circuit controlling device comprising' a moving member, a make andbreak device having one element mounted on said member, a switch,thermostatically-controlled means for opening said switch, a latchhaving a member carried by said switch, and a pin on said moving memberfor disengaging the latch.

4. A circuit controlling device comprising a rotating member, a make andbreak device having one element mounted on said rotating member,aswitch, a thermostati- Cally-controlled means for opening said switch,and switch-closing means carried by said rotating member, said meansincluding a pin located in such angular relation with the make and breakdevlce as to cause the switch-closing means to operate as soon as themake and break device breaks the circuit.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS T. GAFF,

J. H. BRICKENSTEIN.

